Pressures over utility bills and other living costs outweighed concern about interest rates, despite widespread expectations of rate hikes throughout 2011, a new survey shows.

Australia's largest independently-owned mortgage broker, Mortgage Choice today releases its national 2010 Consumer Sentiment Survey results completed during the week before November's cash rate rise.

The annual study, which has run since 2004,questioned 1,061 Australians, 536 of whom had a mortgage, about finance and property matters.

Contrary to last year, the biggest concern for the following year was 'other costs of living such as utility bills, clothing, etc' (27 per cent of respondents vs. 17 per cent in 2009).

Interest rates dropped to second place from first (16 per cent vs. 19 per cent). Economic management at Federal Government level followed (15 per cent vs. 15 per cent), then job security (8 per cent vs. 16 per cent) and food costs (7 per cent vs. 7 per cent).

Thirty-five per cent of respondents intended to purchase property before November 2012, with 36 per cent planning an investment property, 33 per cent their next home and 31 per cent their first home.

Mortgage Choice spokesperson, Kristy Sheppard, said, "Despite widespread expectations of interest rate rises throughout 2011, our annual Consumer Sentiment Survey found concern over utility bills and other living costs outweighed concern about rates."

"It's possible this was due to the November cash rate rise having not yet been announced, which in turn would illustrate how much of a surprise that and subsequent lender rises were to Australians.

"The moves would've been a great disappointment to the 9 per cent of mortgage holders surveyed who said that, based on a 7 per cent interest rate, they couldn't afford any rate rises before considering selling up.

"This sad situation speaks volumes about the need to be prepared for an interest rate rollercoaster ride before you enter a variable home loan contract, and of steering clear of extra debt unless certain you can afford rate landscape changes.

"On the flipside, this finding will be welcomed by people who intend to buy property soon and have already factored in rising repayments. They may be able to take advantage of discounted stock."

According to the survey, 4 per cent of mortgage holders said that, based on a 7 per cent interest rate, they could afford only one 0.25 percentage point rise before considering selling their property, 5 per cent could afford 0.25 to 0.5 points, 6 per cent could afford 0.5 to 0.75 and 8 per cent could afford 0.75 to 1.

Conversely, 20 per cent could afford rises of over 5 percentage points, while 59 per cent said the GFC had made investing in property seem safer than investing in shares.

Thirty per cent will renovate a property instead of buying one in the next two years.

Sixty per cent of those buying property in the next two years were sacrificing something to do so.